


412 Days

by bavarian_angel



Category: MotoGP RPF, Motorcycling RPF, Motorsport RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Hospitals, M/M, Medical Procedures, Occupational Therapy, Recovery, crashes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2018-09-23 19:21:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9672596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bavarian_angel/pseuds/bavarian_angel
Summary: Everything changed on a rainy afternoon in Aragon. Now Marc has to find his way back. (Partial AU)





	1. Prologue - Day 412

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't, and I'm still not sure about posting this. If anybody wants to read this. But as I know that it will take a bit until the next update of my other stories, I'm giving it a try.
> 
> Warning: in future chapters there will be descriptions of medical stuff, especially regarding neurological rehab.
> 
> Please let me know what you think.

**Prologue - Day 412**

 

Marc blinked into the sunny November sky while pulling up the zipper of his jacket with his good hand. He was sure that never in his life would there be another day on which he would take it for granted to breath fresh air. Leaning against the wall next to the front door, he reached for the black cane with his right hand before balancing out his weight and stand on both of his feet. Marc knew that it would always feel funny with the slight lack of sensation and his acting up muscles in his left leg, but he could still see some little improvements every day. After all, at a certain point nobody had thought he would ever be standing on his own too feet again. But all of this didn’t even matter, when he felt a pair of arms sneaking around his waist, pulling him close.

“What’s on your mind?”

Dani’s voice felt like honey and Marc let himself fall back slightly, always knowing that Dani was strong enough for both of them.

“Just appreciating the day.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Marc could hear the smile in Dani’s voice; enough to bring one to his own face.

“Yeah. I don’t know if I can manage the whole distance of the walk though today, but I will surely try. Jorge has been mad with me after I overexerted myself last time and he had to catch me before falling to the floor.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure Jorge had his reasons for it... And what would you say if we scratch the walk for today and get in the car instead?”

It actually took Marc a moment to get his head around Dani’s suggestion, the confusion clear on his face.

“Why should we do that?”

“I’ve got a surprise for you. You’re up for it?”

“ _You_ think I’m up for it? After all, you’re the professional...”

“Yes, I think you’re more than up for it,” Dani said, and Marc believed every word because his brain might play a lot of tricks on him, but Dani was always there to make it right again, one of the most precious knowledge he had found over the last year

~*~

The low hum of the car engine and the blurry bypassing landscape always made Marc drowsy these days. It almost felt like those things pressed certain buttons inside him to put him into sleep mode. But today his excited mind was battling the fatigue of his body. He really wanted to know what Dani had planned, but no matter how often Marc had asked, he had only received Dani’s smile as an answer.

From time to time, mostly when Marc’s eyes were falling shut for a moment, Dani reached over and squeezed his leg, the sensation only a dull pressure to the younger man, but enough to register the sweetness of the gesture in his mind. In the end, it was the brief sight of a sign next to the road that left Marc suddenly wide awake.

“Dani?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell me you’re joking?”

Marc cursed at the obvious tremble in his voice, his right hand subconsciously reaching for the side of the seat, holding on so hard, he could basically feel his knuckles turn white.

“Just wait and see, babe, okay? Do you trust me?”

Without even looking, Marc could feel Dani’s eyes switching between focusing on the road and watching him. But there was also something in his voice - that voice which had changed so much for Marc and maybe was one of the reasons why he was still here today - something that made him nod instantly.

“I trust you.”

Dani’s answer was a simple smile. As they approached the gates to the Circuit the Catalunya, Marc’s heartbeat increased with every metre. Whatever Dani had planned, seemed to be neatly organized as they were just woven through the gate, not even needing any sort of identification.

It was only minutes later that they came to a halt in a free parking space. Marc immediately recognized where they were, knowing that usually this would be the paddock on race weekends. Now a row of cars was parked here, Marc’s attention immediately on the vehicle next to them.

“Jorge is here as well?!”

Again, Marc didn’t really receive an answer, Dani just smiling and shrugging before getting out of the car. Marc himself was rather frozen to his seat in this moment. His mind was whirling around all the possibilities of what might be going on, but as so often he simply didn’t manage to come to a reasonable conclusion. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Dani opening the car door on his side before crouching down to Marc’s level.

“You still okay?”

Marc could have cried at the expression on Dani’s face. It was more than obvious that he was very excited about his plan, but there was also nervousness and anxiety. And despite his own confusion, Marc was sure of one thing - as much as it would probably break Dani’s heart, if Marc told him to drive them back home right now, he would actually do it.

“I don’t know to be honest...”

“I’m not forcing anything on you today, I hope you know that, but I have the feeling that there are some people here who would like to say hello...”

Marc took his time to contemplate this, Dani knowing he needed it, before he finally nodded slowly. Immediately, Dani stepped back, just offering a simple hand, an opportunity of help which Marc gladly accepted today. Back on his feet, Marc leaned against the side of the car until Dani had fetched the cane. He squeezed Marc’s hand for a second as the younger man wrapped his fingers around it.

Only when they turned around, slowly walking around the car, Dani always only a step away from him, Marc noticed the trucks at the other end of the parking space. He immediately came to a halt, reaching out for Dani’s shoulder as his feet started to sway. They were Repsol Honda trucks.

“Dani?”

Before the older man got a chance to reply, Marc noticed four figures walking towards them. He knew all of them, all too well.

On the left, it was Alex and Jorge, two of the most important people during the last year. With a bit of a gap and more to the right, there were two other men, both clad in white and orange shirts, and Marc couldn’t suppress the sob escaping him. It was Santi and Livio, both smiling.

All of this, being here, seeing those familiar and precious faces, proved too much for Marc. Clinging to Dani, who was holding him up as the cane cluttered to the floor, the metallic sound barely registering in Marc’s mind, Marc let the tears fall from his eyes. It felt too unreal, even as the group of men finally came to an halt right in front of them. Alex and Jorge were beaming at him and all of them gave Marc a few precious minutes to calm down again.

A short, albeit hesitant nod, told Dani all he needed to know, before slowly letting go of his strong hand, his arm still on his back, ready to stop Marc from falling. But it wasn’t even necessary. Because not even a moment later, Santi had wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close in a typical hug.

Over the course of the last year, Santi had visited, but this was something else. All the words and questions and answers were hanging in the air, not really needed to be spoken. Still clinging onto Santi, Marc looked at Livio, the older man sporting one of his very rare grins.

“I’ve heard a certain lady is missing you. She’s waiting in the garage and can’t wait to see you again...”

 


	2. Day 0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one, sorry.

“Another beer?” Dani asked, his head buried inside his fridge while trying to balance the bowl with popcorn in his arm. They probably wouldn’t eat it anyway, always too hyped up to even think about it, but it still had to be there.

“Yeah. That Moto2 race made me finish the last bit quite fast.”

Jorge’s laugh made it all the way to the kitchen and Dani could only shake his head, a smile on his face.

“Come on, it wasn’t that close between Viñales and Rabat.”

Balancing their Sunday afternoon treat without dropping anything, Dani made it back to the couch just in time before the MotoGP riders started their warm-up lap. Jorge quickly grabbed his beer and the popcorn bowl, both almost crashing to the floor as Dani tried to sit down without taking his eyes off the television screen. Not wasting anymore time, they were quickly arranged in their common race seating pattern, their routine established in the last couple of years of watching together.

“You think Marquez will make it another win?”

Frowning, Dani almost wanted to nod right away, but hesitating as the grid started to line up.

“I hope he does. Not sure about the weather today though...”

Almost as if on cue, the rain outside started to get heavier, the thick drops pattered against the window, providing a rhythmic background sound to the television. Of course they weren’t anywhere near Aragon, but the clouds on screen seemed to get darker with every passing moment.

Jorge just about managed to answer with a slight _Hmm_ , before the familiar rush of watching those the lights going out was catching up with them and finally the riders were on their way.

It was always different for Dani and Jorge, watching the races; both of them had ridden in their youth, both of them forced to retire prematurely after heavy crashes. Usually the races were accompanied by a lot of discussion about riding styles, mixed up with the occasional curse and scream at the screen at certain overtakes.

At first everything seemed normal today. Marquez and Rossi were once again fighting it out on track, half of the beer bottles had been consumed; and then it started to rain in Aragon. The rain soon turned into a flood coming down from heaven and a frown appeared on Dani’s face.

“Seriously, they need to red flag it in those conditions...”

Dani had just finished his sentence when the camera switched back to Marquez, the young Catalan rider who had impressed him quite a bit in the last few years, was just coming down the slight bend that was turn 11. He still had slicks on and Dani just hoped he would come in next time around because he himself knew that there was no way he could go on like this in those conditions.

He was about to tell Jorge what he was thinking, when he saw Marquez breaking for turn 12 - but the bike just slipped away from under him and he skidded along the run off area, which wasn’t a gravel trap at this point. It all happened so fast and yet Dani felt like watching a slow motion. With the flooded surface, nothing slowed down the bike or Marc, both crashing into the barrier at almost full speed.

“Fuck...”

Jorge’s single word kept ringing in his ears when Dani watched on. He barely noticed the shiver running down his spine. The camera quickly turned away from the crash site and only moments later a red flag was being waved. The TV commentators were already speculating about Marc’s condition, but one quick look over to Jorge revealed that the younger man was thinking just the same as he did.

“He went in head first...”

“I know...”

Without saying anything else, Jorge got up from the couch and turned off the TV. The silence which descended immediately, made Dani feel ice cold. Memories kept resurfacing, mixed what he had just seen and what was possibly now happening in Aragon. Slowly, his eyes wandered from the black screen down to his right arm, the scars still standing out against the rest of his skin, despite them being several years old.

Sighing, Jorge turned towards the balcony door, the rain starting to ease. Even though his face didn’t show any emotion, Dani knew exactly what was going through his head. After all, they had both been there at different points in their life.

“I’m going home. See you at work tomorrow.”

Dani only nodded, barely registering Jorge getting his jacket and leaving. For a long while, Dani kept sitting on his sofa, staring at his mobile phone. He wanted to check if there was any news on Marc, but then he feared what he might read. Instead, he went into his contacts, soon finding his brother’s number. He simply didn’t want to be left alone with his mind right now.

 


	3. Day 5

Pulling the fresh scrubs over his head, Dani stifled a yawn. He had barely slept last night, the images of yesterday still haunting him. He knew that his patients usually were quite unstable, but one of them dying during his treatment time wasn’t really on his daily list. Once again, he tried to push that into the far back of his mind, trying to focus on the day ahead.

Before pushing open the door of the changing room with his hip, he grabbed some disinfectant from the bottle on the wall. Following the routine of rubbing his hands, Dani cast a short look to the clock on the wall, immediately speeding up his steps.

Two minutes later, and therefore just on time, he stepped into the meeting room of the intensive care unit, the doctors, nurses and the rest of the therapy section already waiting for the daily meeting to start. With a short nod, Dani sat down next to Jorge, who only managed to acknowledge him with raised eye brows, before the doctor in charge of the night shift started his report.

Most of Dani’s patients had been stable over night, with one even supposed to move to the neurological rehabilitation ward today. He was about to turn to Jorge and ask something about a particular patient, when the doctor put another file on the table.

“And we have one new patient. Arrived last night, transfer from Zaragoza. Marc Marquez... 21 year old male, professional motorcyclist, had a crash in a race. Broken right collarbone, stable spinal fracture Th1... Traumatic brain injury with an intracranial haemorrhage on the right side. Patient was a 3 on the Glasgow scale upon admittance in Zaragoza. Immediate operation after CT scan. Patient was stable enough for transfer. No reduction of medication yet, we’ll start with the first step probably tomorrow. Ventilation via trach tube, stats are stable again after a short drop last night. Dr Rodriguez will do a full examination later on. We had a short talk this morning. We would like Jorge and Dani as physical and occupational therapists.”

Dani could feel the looks of the whole team on them, but he simply nodded. Fighting the slight shaking of his fingers as he reached for the file that was given to him, he could see out of the corner of his eye that Jorge was probably feeling just like him. It wasn’t the first time that they put them on a certain case because everybody knew that they used to ride motorcycles back in their youth and could often connect to the patients and families this way.

“Family - mother, father and brother - are with him. They should be able to help you with your assessments. Dr. Rodriguez wants a first report tomorrow and an evaluation every two days during the wake up stage... Alright, ladies and gentlemen, that’s it for today.”

Everybody around him started to get up and talk, while Dani was still staring at the closed file in front of him. In his mind, he could still see the pictures of the crash, could see Marc how he knew him from television, and a small part of him was scared what would be waiting for him in that hospital room.

“Do you want to do the assessment together?”

Jorge’s question pulled Dani back into the here and now and for a short moment he just stared at the younger man, concern clearly written in his face, before he finally nodded.

“Sure. Do you have any free slots this morning?”

“I got the Sanchez re-evaluation at 10:30, but I don’t think it will take longer than 30 minutes, he’s made some good progress. So, 11:00 and then lunch?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Jorge smiled encouragingly at him before getting up, squeezing Dani’s shoulder before rushing off to his first patient of the day.

~*~

Dani was a few minutes early. But instead of already going to Marc’s room, he waited for Jorge at the nurses’ station, once again studying Marc’s file. And what he read in there, brought a shiver down his spine. He just couldn’t push the pictures out of his mind, what they had seen on television directly reflected by the younger man’s injuries. In certain ways it was miracle for him that Marc had actually survived the crash.

“Ready?”

Jorge’s voice startled him and for a moment Dani almost shook his head, before he cleared his throat and finally nodded. Putting the file under his arm, he followed Jorge down the hallway, their shoes slightly squeaking on the freshly cleaned floor. Marc’s room was at the end, a gesture of giving him and his family a bit of privacy. For a short moment, they stopped in front of the door, looking at each other and Dani knew that Jorge had exactly the same things on his mind. Finally, Jorge knocked on the door and they stepped into the room.

Immediately, Dani’s eyes were drawn to the bed and the man lying in it. Even though he had seen him so often on television, he wouldn’t have recognized him like that.

Marc was surrounded by a few machines, tubes and cables hooking him up to them. A very low beeping rhythm built the background, combined with the slight hiss of the ventilator, which ended up in the trach tube in his throat. The right side of Marc’s head had been shaved and was still covered up by a bandage. The bandage of the right collarbone almost faded to meaninglessness compared to the rest.

Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Dani tore his eyes away from the bed, to focus on the other people in the room. Marc’s parents were sitting next to the bed, holding each other’s hand, immediately clear to everyone that they were past the crying stage, hope and hopelessness mixed in their faces. A few metres away, tucked into the corner of the room was Alex.

Dani recognized him instantly, even though he had never seen such a look reflected in his eyes. Slightly taking a step back, Dani let Jorge approach them first, as he once again looked down at Marc.

“Hello. My name is Jorge Lorenzo, I’m Marc’s physical therapist, and this is Dani Pedrosa, his occupational therapist. We’re here to take a first assessment on Marc, if that is alright for you.”

“Of course... do you... can we stay with him? Or do you want us to...?” Julia’s shaking voice was raspy, barely able to look at them; almost as if he had the feeling that something bad would happen as soon as he would take his eyes away from his son.

“You’re very welcome to stay.You don’t need to worry, we’ll be very careful and only do what’s possible. I’ll mostly look for Marc’s muscles, their tone and their reactions, so that we can do a baseline.”

Roser slowly nodded, before her eyes landed on Dani.

“I’ll do some sensory tests at the moment. Once they’ll start to reduce the medication and wake him up, I’ll help him with any sort of daily life activities. You can also come to me any time when you have any questions about aids or whatever we might have to consider before he will be able to go home.”

Dani could immediately see what was going through Roser’s mind; slowly, but surely she tried to get her head around the fact that Marc might not be the same once he would wake up - something he had seen so often in relatives at this stage or sometimes even later.

“They... the doctors said something about a PEG tube being placed tomorrow?”

“Yeah, it’s a tube they will place in Marc’s stomach. It’s a minor procedure, but it will really help him during recovery until he will be able to eat by himself again. It’s normal to place one before they will start the waking up process. If it’s okay for you, I would like to sit down with you later this week and ask a few questions about Marc so that we can work on specific goals with him.”

Roser and Julia just nodded, not really able to say more at the moment. Turning his head slightly, Dani looked over to Alex, but got no reaction from the young man. He hadn’t moved one bit and kept staring at the floor in front of him.

Finally Dani nodded at Jorge and they started to work on their assessments - Marc’s parents constantly watching them in case they could bring any more harm to their son. Jorge slowly took Marc’s arms and legs, moving them slightly and giving Dani stats to write down. Marc’s muscle tone was as expected with the current medication which put him into a deep sedation. Same when Dani touched certain points on his body, giving him slight sensory input.

Finishing off with the last stats, Dani noticed the slight increase in Marc’s blood pressure as well as the thin layer of sweat that hadn’t been there before. He could see the worry in Roser’s eyes when he grabbed a tissue and slowly wiped the sweat off Marc’s forehead.

“It’s okay. It’s a complete natural reaction. His body isn’t used to that kind of input at the moment, that’s why he shows minor signs of stress. I’m sure you saw that already happening when the nurses were washing him or changing his position?”

“Yes. They said the same.”

“It will improve over time, when he gets more used to it.”

Dani managed to smile at her, before turning towards Marc for the last time. As carefully as possible he put some small pillows under his arms and calves to avoid any pressure on sensitive skin parts. Just that tiny bit longer, he let his eyes linger on the younger man’s face. He couldn’t place what it was, but something was drawing him to Marc.

He just about managed to stop shaking his head to get rid of this feeling, not wanting to give any negative sign to his family. Finally he nodded a short goodbye to them before leaving the room with Jorge. Squirting some disinfectant into his hands and rubbing it in, he looked up at Jorge.

“What do you think?”

“Hard to say to be honest. We’ll have to wait until he wakes up. But we both know he’s a fighter. He doesn’t give up that easily.”

“I hope you’re right.”

 


	4. Day 8-10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it took me so long! I hope there are still people reading...

**Day 8**

“Alright Mr. Alonso. That’s it for today. I see you again tomorrow.”

Dani finished by pulling the blanket over his patient, his hands carefully placed on a pillow after some exercises against the spastic posture they had settled in by now. On his way out, Dani quickly wrote down what he had done in the patient’s chart, before disinfecting his hands. 

Checking the time with a quick glance at the clock above the nurses’ station, Dani didn’t need to look into his daily calender, he knew who was next on the list. He had to admit that he felt quite unprofessional when it came to Marc. It wasn’t just the fact that he knew him after watching him race so often, but there was also something else, something he couldn’t explain that was drawing him to the younger man. 

Shaking his head slightly as he came to a halt in front of the door to Marc’s room. This was simply the wrong time and space to think about these things. Marc needed him to be professional, as well as his family. 

For a short moment, Dani’s mind drifted to his own parents who had also sat in a hospital room all those years ago and without the help he had received back then, he wouldn’t be here now. He owned them this much. 

Quickly knocking, Dani waited for a quiet ‘Come in’ before he opened the door. The picture that greeted him was just the same as the days before.

Marc was lying on his bed, surrounded by one more machine than compared to the first time, this one pumping fluid food through a tube right into his stomach. Next to the bed were Roser and Julia, their lack of sleep becoming obvious on their faces, but both unwilling to leave their son for too long. Once again, Alex was sitting in the corner of the room, his eyes fixed at something outside the window, almost as if he was avoiding looking at Marc. 

“Hello, Dani.”

Roser’s voice was raspy, almost like she had cried recently, despite probably not having any tears left, but a small smile appeared on her face, when she looked up at him.

“Hey... how is he today?”

“The nurses said that he’s finally adjusting to the PEG, so that’s something positive.”

“Yeah it is. It is completely normal for the body to need a few days after the procedure. I was planning to do some stimulation of his skin. Do you have some kind of lotion or something that Marc likes?”

“There’s some of it in the bathroom by the sink. The blue bottle.”

“Good. Why don’t you all take a little break while I work with him. Get something to drink and some fresh air. It’s a nice day outside.” 

“I don’t know...”

“Julia, I will take good care of him, I promise. And if you have some time afterwards, I would like to go over a few things with you, try to learn a bit about Marc to adjust therapy to his very own needs.”

“Of course.”

Dani waited by the door while the family had a silent conversation. It was Roser who got up first, before walking over to Alex and slightly touching him on the shoulder. The younger man flinched, but didn’t look up. Giving no answer to his mother, he quickly got up and left the room almost as if he was in a rush. Roser and Julia shared a sad look, only slightly nodding towards Dani as they followed their youngest son.

As quietly as possible, Dani closed the door before getting the lotion from the bathroom and stepping up to Marc’s bed. The sound of the machines seemed even louder with nobody else in the room. Slowly, not wanting to frighten the young man, Dani touched Marc’s hand.

“Hello, Marc. It’s me, Dani. Yeah, it’s that time of the day again. Just so you know what’s going to happen today - I will massage your arms and legs a bit. I want to give you a feeling of the position of your limbs and try to get some of that stiffness out of your joints. And don’t worry, your parents and your brother are just outside. They will be back soon.”

The only answer Dani got was the usual hiss of the ventilator.

~*~

Just when Dani had put down his signature in Marc’s chart, the door opened again and Roser and Julia stepped inside. He could see in their faces that something was bothering them, but it wasn’t his place to ask.

“Hey Dani. Looks like we’re back just in time. I think you wanted to talk to us?” Julia tried to hide the look in his eyes by a smile which was far too cheery and most obviously fake that it almost brought tears to Dani’s eyes.

“Yes, but if you’re not up to it, we can always do it another time.”

“Not sure we’ll ever be really up for it.”

“Alright. I hope it’s okay for me to write down some notes. Do you want to stay here or go outside for it?”

Roser already sat back down next to Marc’s bed, taking her son’s hand again before looking back up at Dani.

“If it’s okay, I’d rather stay here to be honest.”

Glancing at her husband, Julia nodded at the silent question.

“We’d rather stay.”

“Of course. No problem.”

For a moment Dani hesitated, looking back at the closed door. The sigh coming from Roser was all the answer he needed if they would be joined by anybody else. Dani went over to the window, picking up the chair that had been occupied by Alex earlier on. He finally settled down next to Marc’s parents, sitting at the end of the bed so that he could look at all three of them.

“If you don’t want to answer any of my questions, just tell me and we’ll skip it, okay?”

“Alright...”

They quickly went over some questions about Marc’s childhood, but as the younger man had been completely healthy in his youth, Dani just wrote down some stats.

“As you already know, I want to focus the therapy on what is important to Marc. Is there anything besides riding that he likes to do?”

“Well, to be honest riding bikes and doing everything for it, was... is the only thing on Marc’s mind as far as we know. It was like that ever since he was a little boy.”

“Okay. Are there any other people who are important to him, who could help him during his recovery? Maybe a girlfriend?”

“No, no girlfriend. You see, Marc is...” Julia sighed, averting his eyes from Dani, like he didn’t know what to say about it, but Roser quickly continued before the break could become too awkward.

“Marc is not seeing anyone at the moment. He has a close relationship with his grandparents, but they’re also struggling with their health, so we’re trying to not put any more stress on them. But... well, the most important person in Marc’s life is Alex...”

The following silence spoke more than a thousand words and Dani wondered if he should inquire any more, but if they really were as close as everybody proclaimed, he knew that Alex would be a vital factor in Marc’s recovery.

“Alex is not dealing well with the situation, is he?”

Julia simply looked away, while Roser tried in vain to swallow her sob.

“No, he isn’t. We don’t know what it is. They were both a bit strange on the day... the day of the crash. But ever since then... You know, Alex doesn’t speak any more.”

“What do you mean, he doesn’t speak any more?”

“He’s not speaking at all. From the moment he saw the crash on the screen. Not even to us. I know... I know he’s crying himself to sleep at night. I don’t know what to do any more. It feels a bit like I’m losing both of them...”

Roser finally lost the fight against the tears, the look of her hurting Dani deep inside his chest as Julia pulled her into a hug.

“Okay, I think this is it. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to ask for me. I will be back tomorrow afternoon to work with Marc.”

Dani was about to get up and leave the family alone, when he heard Julia call out his name. The older man was still holding his wife and Dani could see the tears in his eyes when he looked up at him.

“Dani... if... if it turns out like the doctors say it could... like Marc possibly... We have a small house... you can’t get inside without stairs...”

“Don’t worry about that right now. Nobody knows how Marc’s recovery will turn out. We’ll cross those bridges when we’ll come to them.”

 

**Day 10**

Dani woke up with a scream. The sheet of bedding was clinging to his sweaty skin as he tried to catch his breath. It took him several moments to realize that he was in his bedroom, nobody else here. Looking down, he saw the last signs of his dream ebbing away, while the images were still haunting him - images of Marc with him here in this bed, the younger man so lively and his hot hands touching Dani’s shivering body; before the scenery had changed and Dani had found himself in a certain Repsol Honda garage, watching the race on the screens, only waking up when he saw Marc crashing...


	5. Day 12-19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you know that I've been struggling with this chapter. I hope it turned out alright and please let me know what you think <3

**Day 12**

_Mama..._

_Ma..._

_Pa...pa..._

_That... voice..._

_Alex..._

_Who... that... voice..._

_Where... Alex..._

_Da..._

 

 

**Day 19**

Even though Dani had knocked on the door, like always, he hadn’t expected to find anyone besides Marc in the room. He knew that Marc’s parents were having a talk with the doctors at the moment because, even though they had started to reduce the medication that kept him in the induced coma, he wasn’t reacting like they had hoped he would. Now the only sounds in the room were coming from the different machines around Marc’s bed, but like always Alex was sitting on the chair by the window, his eyes only looking up for a short moment when Dani came through the door.

“Hey there...” Dani kept his voice low as to not startle Alex or Marc, immediately shaking his head when Alex started to get up. “There’s really no need to leave. You’re more than welcome to stay.”

A smile appeared on Dani’s face when he noticed Alex sitting down again after a short moment of hesitation. The younger man didn’t look at him, but at least a little bit of tension visibly disappeared from his body. Dani took a quick look into Marc’s chart - no change since yesterday, but at least still stable - before a thought popped up in his mind.

He walked up to the side of Marc’s bed and took his hand, looking down at him, but still making sure not to turn his back towards Alex.

“Hey, Marc. It’s me again, Dani. You probably already know that your parents aren’t here at the moment, but they’re just down the corridor talking to your doctors. They will be back in no time. Alex is here though and I just thought that I’d skip my plan for today because we can always do that tomorrow. Why don’t we do something together with your brother instead, hmm?”

Dani could see Alex tensing up, but at least he didn’t flee from the room at this suggestion. Squeezing Marc’s hand one more time, Dani slowly walked around the bed and over to Alex, before crouching down and trying to establish a little eye contact with the younger man.

“Alex... Your mother has told me that you’re really upset and I’m not just here to help Marc. I have no idea what was going on that day, but look! Your brother is still here and he’s still fighting. And I know that it looks scary, the way he’s lying there, but just like the protection you wear on the bike, all that stuff is supporting him right now...”

Alex finally looked up at Dani. There were tears shimmering in his eyes, but Dani’s heart almost missed a beat when he could detect the tiniest of nods, showing him that he was getting through to him.

“Did anyone ever took some time to explain all that machines and things?”

Slowly shaking his head, Alex swallowed before looking up at Marc for a second.

“Would you like to know?”

For about a minute Alex didn’t move and Dani almost feared that the younger man had retreated back into his mind, but suddenly his eyes were back on him and he actually nodded. Dani reached out to slightly squeeze his knee. Thanking his patience as an OT, he waited until Alex got up from the chair and was slowly walking over to Marc’s bed. That fact alone was more than Dani had hoped for.

“So, Marc, maybe this is for you as well, so you know what keeps making those beeping and whizzing noises...”

Dani waited until Alex sat down one of the chairs right next to Marc’s bed. He wasn’t touching him yet, but Dani hoped that Marc could still sense his presence.

“Well, let’s start with the most obvious. That monitor on the other side shows Marc’s heartbeat, blood pressure and oxygen levels. All is looking good, the stats are all like they should be. Sometimes the alarm goes off when one of the stats is dropping, but then somebody will come and look at it. That tube that is going to the incision in Marc’s throat is helping him breath. After the injuries it was a bit hard for him to do it on his own. Once he has recovered enough, it will be taken out. The incision will heal and the only thing he’ll have left of it, will be a small scar.”

Before continuing, Dani waited for Alex’s hesitant nod, making sure he was getting through to the young man. He watched as Alex slowly touched his own throat with shaking fingers. Alex looked up at Dani, the question in his eyes clear.

“It might look scary, but this way it is easier for him. When he wakes up, he won’t think that he’s choking on it. That big machine next to the monitor, with the many tubes, that is to give him medication. Marc needs a lot of rest to heal, so the doctors decided that they give him something to sleep. They are reducing it already though, so that Marc can wake up soon.”

Slowly, Dani sat down next to Alex. He could see that the younger man was shaking, but he showed no signs of getting up. Instead his eyes lay on Marc for a moment, unshed tears shimmering in them. Dani knew that this was the right way to go.

Giving Alex a little break, Dani looked at the various monitors for a minute. Of course, Marc was still sedated and his stats had been pretty stable in the last few days, but it almost seemed as if Marc was relaxing himself, his pulse and blood pressure ever so slightly dropping, not in any dangerous way but more on the calm side. Dani noticed Alex again, turning back to him with a smile.

“Alright, the newest little machine right next to me here is to provide Marc with fluid food through that tube in his stomach. Once he’ll be able to eat and swallow on his own again, he won’t need it any more, but right now Marc needs all the strength he can get...”

Out of the corner of his eye, Dani noticed Alex swallowing heavily. He realized that he had to try; he just hoped he wasn’t wrong about his feelings or he would end up ruining more than could ever be mended. Dani turned towards the younger man and waited until Alex looked him in the eyes.

“Alex... I don’t know what happened between you two on the day of the crash. But I learned one thing, especially in the talks with your parents. Marc needs you. He needs you now more than ever. I know how it is, I’m a big brother myself. And as a big brother, you always watch out for the little one, taking care of him - which I’m sure Marc did his whole life. Sometimes bad things happen, like the crash, and now you need to take care of him. Be there for him, show him that he’s not alone. Marc might still be sleeping, but I’m sure some things get through to him... Give me your hand, Alex...”

For a moment, Dani was almost sure that he wouldn’t do it, but once again Alex surprised him. He could see the question in his eyes, but obviously there was enough trust that shaky fingers reached out to him. Dani took Alex’s hand carefully, slowly guiding it towards Marc’s hand. There was a second of hesitation, but then Alex’s fingers were slightly touching Marc. A shudder went through Alex’s body as silent tears were running down his cheeks. Tenderly, he let his finger’s intertwine with Marc’s and in this moment no more words were needed.

Sensing that it was his time to leave, Dani slowly got up. He just about managed to walk around Marc’s bed, as a quiet voice suddenly filled the room.

“We... we had a fight... in the morning...”

Frozen to the spot, Dani turned his head around. Alex had buried his face in his free hand, the other one still touching Marc’s fingers.

“Alex...”

“It... it was such a... stupid thing... He just wanted to help me. And... I yelled at him...”

Slowly walking over to Alex again and laying his hand on his shoulder, Dani didn’t know what he should say right now. Alex’s mumbled words turned into quiet sobs and suddenly Dani wasn’t so sure any more if he really wanted to push the younger man so much. Scolding himself for his mistake, he was even more surprised as Alex suddenly looked up, his eyes red and puffy.

“The last thing I said to him that day was ‘Fuck off’... that was the last thing... before the crash...” 

“Alex... I am so sorry to hear that, but... I don’t think at all that Marc is mad at you or that this was the reason for the crash. It was an accident. And even though Marc is sleeping right now, you can, you should talk to him - be there for him.”

Casting a short look towards Marc’s vitals monitor, checking the current time, Dani cursed inside, knowing that he should already be with another patient. But only when he noticed Alex nodding, once again unable to speak, he knew that he could leave them alone. Whatever might happen next, was a thing between the two brothers only.


	6. Day 25-30

**Day 25**

“Daniel, what’s wrong?”

Realizing that he must have been miles away, Dani swallowed before looking up at his mother. Immediately, he recognized the look of concern on her, something that he had seen way too often and had sworn himself to not see it again.

“It’s nothing...”

Taking a sip from the water bottle, Dani hoped that his mother would just return her attention to the pot on the stove, but he also knew that she wouldn’t dismiss it like that. Whenever Basilia had the slightest hint that one of her children wasn’t doing good, she would try anything to make it alright. She was a typical mother and Dani loved her for it. After all, she had been there in his darkest hours.

This time it wasn’t any different. She reduced the heat on the stove and turned around towards Dani, slightly raising her eyebrows as she looked at her oldest son.

“You never were a good liar.”

“Hmm...”

“What’s on your mind, baby?”

For a moment, Dani turned his head and looked out of the kitchen window. His father and Eric were busy in the garden, preparing it for the upcoming autumn. Somehow glad that they weren’t in the kitchen with them, talking always harder when his father was around, Dani sighed.

“Do you still think about it?”

“Think about what?”

“The crash... my time in the hospital...”

“I try not to think about it, but every once in a while I dream about it. And every Sunday, I thank God that he prevented worse things happening to you that day. Why are you asking, baby?”

“Because Marc Marquez is lying in our Intensive Care Unit. He’s my patient.”

For a moment Basilia just stared at him. Of course, she knew the name. Even though Dani wasn’t racing any more, they were still following the championship.

“How is he?”

“Not good... He’s in a coma. Had a bad head injury...”

“Oh, baby...”

Ignoring the pot on the stove for a minute, Basilia pulled her son into a hug, the slight tremble telling her that it wasn’t easy for him. Dani pressed his face into his mothers’ shoulder, the familiar smell immediately calming him down in a certain way.

“We saw the crash on the television, Jorge and me... And I don’t know what it is. He’s just like any other patient, but then... I mean he’s so young and I know how he was before... But what really gets to me is his family. They’re always there. And when I look into his mother’s eyes, I can’t stop thinking about it how it must have been for you all those years back.”

Without letting Dani go, Basilia turned around a bit, reducing the heat on the stove before she manoeuvred them over to the little kitchen table. After letting Dani sit down on one of the chairs, she got two glasses of water and sat down on the other side.

“You know, we don’t really talk about that time, your father and I. I don’t think... We never really got over it. I know that your life was never in danger, but those days waiting until we really knew that you wouldn’t end up in a wheelchair... I had no idea what to do. It would have changed everything. I know we were really lucky and that a lot of other people, including some of your patients, are not that fortunate. So, I think I can understand how Marc’s mother must be feeling... Just sitting there, seeing your son lying in that hospital bed, and you can’t do a single thing. Just waiting and hoping... I know I’m only a mother, no therapist, so the only advice I can give you is being there for them. Helping in any way that you can. That can make all the change.”

Hoping that his mother didn’t see, but also knowing it was in vain, Dani wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. He still had his own demons from his crash all those years ago, but hearing those words from his mother, almost proved to be too much. Swallowing against the lump in his throat, he pulled Basilia into a hug; no more words needed between them.

  
  


**Day 27**

“ _Do you want to watch the race tomorrow?”_

Keeping his mobile between his ear and his shoulder, Dani looked into the emptiness of his fridge.

“To be honest, I don’t really feel like it. Sorry.”

“ _No need to be sorry, mate. Just thought I’d asked. Maybe a beer tonight then?”_

For a moment, Dani wanted to refuse that as well, but then he realised at what Jorge was getting at. After all, they both had been there.

“You know what? Make that a beer and a pizza.”

  
  


**Day 30**

Dani didn’t like their team meetings. He knew that it was important so that they were all working in the right direction with their patients, but he rather be doing therapy right now. It would also help him to stop his thoughts going in circles all the time. After yet another hidden nudge from Jorge, Dani tried to pay attention again, knowing that they were coming to an end and he would be soon able to flee from Jorge’s judging glance.

“Alright, last patient on the list, Marc Marquez. Completely off narcotics for 5 days. Still on ventilation. No particular increase of cranial pressure. So far no obvious response to stimuli. We’re doing another MRI tomorrow. Jorge?”

“Slightly increased stiffness of muscles and joints on the left side. Obvious difference to the right side, which would indicate an incomplete hemiparesis.”

“Fits the results of the CT. Okay... Dani?”

“I have similar observations concerning the possible movements in both hands. Sometimes there was a slight vegetative reaction to touch like decreased blood pressure. The family shows a good compliance. They say they do the exercises with him daily. Especially his mother asked me for different positions how to make him comfortable and other things she can do between therapy sessions. He will be my first client after the meeting.”

~*~

Like always, the whole family was present when Dani entered Marc’s room. He was so glad to see that Alex was sitting close to his brother, talking to him, obviously telling him about something a friend had posted in social media. As soon as Dani entered, Roser’s eyes were on him, and it hurt him so much, seeing her tiredness. By now he knew that she was a fighter, but it looked a bit like she was starting to lose her strength.

“Hey, how are you doing?”

Dani smiled and hoped that they wouldn’t notice how forced it was.

“It’s alright. The doctors told us that they’re doing another MRI tomorrow to find out what... why he hasn’t woke yet.”

“I know. Did you notice any change in the last few days?”

The moment Roser’s face fell, Dani regretted the question. He had been hopeful that maybe they had just missed something that Marc’s family had picked up, but obviously that hadn’t been the case. And Roser’s shake of the head was the final confirmation. For a moment Dani just stood there, unable to say a word as Julia took Roser’s hand, squeezing it slightly. A short glance over to the bed, showed him that Alex had halted for a moment, not looking up, but aware of their conversation. In this moment Dani would have given everything to bring them any good news. But in reality he knew what meant that Marc was still in a coma. He had seen enough patients going down that path, never really able to recover.

“Hey, Alex...”

Dani waited until the younger man looked up at him, a tiny spark of hope in his eyes enough to get Dani going again.

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any videos of you and Marc on your mobile?”

“Of course, plenty.”

“Then I have an idea... Why don’t you take off your shoes and get in bed behind Marc so that you both can watch the videos?”

“Are you sure? I mean with all the tubes and stuff?”

“I will help you. Don’t worry, you can’t hurt him. The collarbone and his vertebra has healed.”

Slowly but surely Alex nodded and did what Dani told him, his parents looking at them, not being really sure what to expect. But with a bit of help from Dani, Alex managed to sit down right behind Marc, his older brother leaning against his chest.

“Okay, put your arms around his torso. That way he’s secured from all sides. Alright Marc, I think you should be quite comfortable with Alex there. And now I’m really excited to see myself what you two been up to.”

Dani stood next to the bed, his hand holding up Marc’s chin so that his head wouldn’t fall to the side or crush the ventilator in his throat. A short glance over to Marc’s parents was enough to see a tear running down Roser’s cheek, her smile bitter sweet as Julia pulled her close.

Obviously Alex had enough material on his mobile to entertain them longer than just the 45 minutes of Dani’s session and it was obvious that they had to repeat this at a certain point.

“Okay, one more and then it’s enough for today.”

“Alright, I know just the right one...”

As Alex navigated through the files on his mobile, Dani suddenly heard a gasp coming from Roser and Julia. Alarmed, Dani looked up at them, both seemingly shocked. He immediately checked Marc’s vitals, unable to see anything alarming.

“Oh my God... Marc?”

Following Roser’s line of sight, Dani looked down at Marc’s face - only to see that he had opened his eyes.

 


	7. Day 32-42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry *hides*

**Day 32**

Dani hated these kind of meetings. If there was a chance of escape, he would immediately flee this room. But instead he had to sit here at this table next to Jorge and Laia, the speech therapist of the intensive care unit. To his left there were all the doctors that had treated Marc over the course of the last month - to the right were Roser and Julia. Alex had refused to take part in this meeting.

Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Dani tried not to look up at the pictures that had been put up on the screen on the wall - Marc’s latest CT and MRI scans. Just two days ago, they had all been so happy after Marc had finally opened his eyes. But despite being able to finally breath on his own, there were no more positive news.

When Dani managed to concentrate again, he noticed that Dr Rodriguez had already started talking.

“And unfortunately, our tests confirmed the lasting damage to Marc’s brain. So as of now, we can’t say if he will make any more progress. If it happens, we can’t tell you how long it will take. About ten percent of the patients in Marc’s condition will regain full consciousness, but also about twenty percent die within a year. The rest of them usually stay in such a state. We will monitor him closely for the next few days to see if his oxygen levels stay up after we have taken him off the ventilator. After that we plan to transfer him to our neurological rehab unit. Usually they have their own team, but with Marc being a special case, we decided that we will continue treat him as his doctors and the therapeutic team will also stay the same. Our speech therapist Laia will have a look at Marc to see if he’s maybe able to swallow on his own. In that case we could maybe take him off the PEG in a few weeks. Otherwise, we will see if he makes any progress over the next eight to twelve weeks.”

“What if there isn’t any progress?”

Roser’s voice sounded broken. She was sitting close to Julia, clutching his hands. Tears were running down her face while Julia just stared ahead of him, obviously unable to take the news in. Dani’s heart was breaking for them.

“In that case there’s nothing else we can do for him. I’m sorry.”

Roser nodded slowly. She couldn’t look up when the doctors started to leave the table. Looking at Marc’s parents, Dani wished he could do more for them, but that wasn’t possible. He couldn’t perform a miracle.

Dani was about to follow Jorge out of the room, when he heard Julia’s voice calling him out. Turning around, he hesitated until he was the only one left with Roser and Julia.

The older man finally looked up and something in his eyes told him that he had given up.

“What will happen after those twelve weeks? What happens if Marc stays like that?”

Sighing, Dani sat down at the table again, this time right next to them.

“Like Dr Rodriguez said, then we as a hospital and rehabilitation centre can’t do any more for Marc. He would be discharged. Of course, we would help you in any way that we can beforehand, like getting Marc a wheelchair he’s comfortable in or other helps to make it easier to take care of him.”

“You need to get up a whole flight of stairs to get into our house... and another one to get into Marc’s room...”

Dani looked at Roser, saw the fear in her face. He really hated this point, hated having to discuss these things with relatives.

“Well, the first question you have to ask yourself - and that has nothing to do with the fact that I know that you love Marc and would move the world for him - is if you think that you will be able to take care of him at home. It’s physically and mentally very demanding. In Marc’s current condition it will be very hard with those stairs. You might want to look into certain adjustments... or maybe even a wheelchair usable house. And I have to mention that there’s always the option for a permanent care home. But we still have some time before we discuss those things. Give Marc a bit more time. We will cross that bridge when we will come to it.”

Roser and Julia both nodded slowly, pulling each other close. Just when Dani was about to turn around, Julia spoke out again. There was a sad smile on his face.

“Thank you, Dani.”

 

**Day 37**

Dani wasn’t used to walking these hallways any more. When he had first started after finishing his studies to become an occupational therapist, he had started his job in neurological rehab, but only a few months later he had found his home in the intensive care unit.

They had their own therapeutic team down here, but as Dani had learned, it had been Marc’s family who had expressed the wish that the same team would be taking care of Marc as before, knowing that he was the type to continue with trusted people.

And of course, he was still the celebrity in the hospital. Even though it had been over a month, the eyes of the motorsport world were still on them. At least the reporters had vanished from the main entrance. Even they had realized that it wasn’t worth the wait.

Just like on the intensive care, they had given Marc a private room at the end of the hallway, with a free room right next to it where his family could sleep at night. However, after such a long time, they started to take the occasional trip back home.

Usually one of them stayed with Marc, but today all of them were in Cervera for the birthday of a relative. It had taken a lot of convincing from the therapist that was taking care of the family, in the end they had agreed though.

Dani knocked on the door to Marc’s room, despite knowing that there wouldn’t be answer. After a short moment, he stepped in, his eyes immediately going over to Marc.

“Hey. It’s me, Dani. I know I’m earlier than usual, but I had to rearrange some sessions. I hope this is okay for you.”

Marc’s head was turned towards the window, his eyes open, but unfocused. By now there were way less machines around his bed. The only trace of the former ventilator was the bandage on his neck. Dani walked over to him, laying his hand on Marc’s arms.

“I see that your hair has grown back quite well by now. What do you think? Should we do something against the mess?”

He was hoping for any kind of reaction, a movement or blinking, but there was nothing. Dani could barely suppress the sigh as he brought a comb from the bathroom along with some products.

“Alright. I’m gonna sit you up a bit so that I can slip in behind you. You don’t need to be afraid. We’ve done this a lot of times before and I will hold you safely.”

Placing the props on the nightstand, Dani pulled Marc slowly into a sitting position in the bed before getting in behind him. When he let him rest against his chest, a shiver went through Marc’s body and for a moment Dani even hesitated, but then he realised that it was probably just a neurological reaction to being moved.

“Okay, I will put this little mirror in front of you, so you can check what you’re doing. We will start with the comb...”

Placing his hand right above Marc’s hand, directing his movements, Dani started to reach over to the comb and bring it up to Marc’s hair.

Half an hour later, Marc almost looked like he used to in all those pictures. Dani slightly turned Marc’s head so that the younger man could check his reflection in the mirror - but still his eyes were unfocused. As soon as Dani let his own hand drop, Marc’s head rolled back, coming to a rest on Dani’s shoulder. Looking at him, Dani tried his best to get into Marc’s eyeline, hoping to reach something inside his mind.

“Marc, listen to me. I know you are still in there. Don’t ask me why, but I just have this feeling. We’re doing all that we can, but you need to fight as well. Do you hear me? Don’t give up... Because I’m certainly not giving up on you.”

 

**Day 42**

Dani cuddled the pillow close to his chest. Something inside him reminded him that it wasn’t a good idea, but he simply hadn’t been able to say no when Jorge had asked.

So he found himself in his own living room on this Sunday afternoon, listening to strange noises coming from his kitchen where Jorge was preparing snacks for them. But despite the fear of having to clean Jorge’s mess later on, he preferred that over the sound of the television which he had muted as soon as the Moto2 race had been over.

It was the last race of the season in Valencia. Only a few months ago, they had talked about possibly going there themselves to watch the races live, but after everything that had happened, they had discarded that idea. And of course the commentators had been speaking about Marc.

Dani knew the stuff that was officially released to the press, which was quite a way from the real way things were going. That had proofed too much for Dani and thus the television only displayed the silent coverage right now. But it wasn’t just because of the last race that they were talking about Marc.

After all, right until the day of the crash, Marc had ridden an almost perfect season with his ten wins in a row, giving him a huge lead over Valentino Rossi in second place. And despite Marc’s absence Rossi hadn’t managed to catch Marc in the rankings - yet.

However, he only needed two points today to win the championship. Having qualified on pole position, almost everybody was sure that he would make it. Even though Dani had always admired Valentino, he didn’t want him to win.

“You know, we could still go out for a ride and check the results later on.”

Dani shook his head as Jorge sat down next to him, handing him a bottle of beer and placing the plate with sandwiches between them.

“I can’t concentrate enough to ride the bike right now.”

“Dani?”

The way Jorge’s voice sounded made Dani turn around and the slight concern could also be seen in the younger man’s eyes.

“What?”

“I hope you do realize that Marc is just like any other patient, right?”

“Hmm...”

Dani settled his eyes on the tv again, but he knew that Jorge wouldn’t be satisfied with this answer. His friend knew him too well by now to let it go.

“Don’t make it any more complicated than it already is. He’s a patient and that already is a huge no go, but in his condition-”

“I know! It’s just nonsense in my mind, okay? He just doesn’t fucking deserve it. And now I just want this damn race to be over so that I can finally forget about MotoGP and this freaking season.”

Jorge didn’t answer to that. After this emotional outbreak they simply settled into silence, both sipping on their beers as they watched the lights go out on the screen.

The next noise filling the room was their joint gasp as they watched Valentino Rossi crash out in lap 5.

Marc was the 2014 MotoGP world champion.

 


	8. Day 43-53

**Day 43**

Dani had scheduled his therapy session with Marc as the first thing after the meeting in the morning. Too many things were swirling around his head since yesterday - the outcome of the race as well as Jorge’s words. He needed to clear his mind and make sure that it was the right way to go.

As soon as he turned left into the hallway where Marc’s room was, he saw the group of people waiting there. And one didn’t need to be a genius to know who they were, their white shirts with the red Honda sign on them were obvious enough. Dani recognized one or two faces from Marc’s team, remembering them from the coverage of Marc’s races.

Without any further thinking, Dani knew that this was the wrong time to turn up and he was just about to turn around again, when the door to Marc’s room opened and Alex stepped outside. And of course, he looked up and saw Dani.

With a smile on his face, the younger man waved him over. Dani’s chance of escape had already vanished.

“Hey, Dani! Look! Everybody’s here...”

“Hi, Alex. Yeah, I can see that.”

Shaking Alex’s hand, Dani nodded at the group of people staring at him.

“Guys, this is Dani. He’s Marc’s occupational therapist and he’s done some great things with him.”

“Hello... Alex, actually I came for a session with Marc, but I don’t think this is the right time...”

“Maybe, but at least come in. Emilio is here. I don’t think you’ve met him yet.”

Unable to say no to Alex, Dani let the younger man drag him into Marc’s room, which was also crowded with people. Letting his eyes roam around, Dani recognized a couple of faces before he settled on Marc.

Marc seemed to have a bit more colour today, his look mostly towards the ceiling. They had propped him up in bed and the nurses had obviously helped to dress him in his team shirt today. Next to Marc, on the small nightstand that usually was occupied by medical supplies, there was the huge tower of the MotoGP trophy. Dani had to swallow when he saw Marc’s name on the latest piece, as the world champion of 2014.

“Dani?”

Hearing Alex’s voice again, he turned around and was faced with someone who he instantly recognized as Emilio Alzamora, Marc’s mentor and manager. They shook hands while Alex officially introduced him. After the younger man had disappeared again, they stood and hesitated for a moment, neither really knowing what to say.

“They told me that you’re doing some amazing work with Marc. And that you were around when he opened his eyes.”

“Yeah. I just hope that I can help him as much as possible.”

“I think you are. And not only Marc, but his whole family. Thank you for that. I really mean it. If there is ever anything I can do for you, give me a call.”

 

**Day 47**

Dani hated lying to Jorge. His colleague and friend had asked him to come and have a beer with him, but Dani had denied, telling him that he wasn’t feeling well and would have an early night.

However, he had driven all the way to Barcelona, to an area where his face wasn’t known, ending up in one of those bars. Nursing his first beer of the night, Dani already noticed the young bartender flirting with him, but he needed more alcohol first. He wanted to forget it all for one night, preferably ending it with a nice, but drunken one night stand.

By the time the bar really started to fill up with the Friday night crowd, Dani had switched from beer to whiskey. But his mind was still clear enough to notice the man sitting down next to him - the interested look, the cheeky smile and the dark eyes. After the stranger had ordered his drink, he turned towards Dani, not leaving a single doubt that he was interested in him.

“Hey... I’m Carlos.”

“Dani.”

“So, Dani, can I buy you another drink?”

Carlos’ smile found its direct way to Dani’s crotch. Trying to get more comfortable on the bar stool, Dani could only nod. Maybe this was working out after all.

~*~

It did work out in the end. However, despite the dull ache in his ass and the dark circles under his eyes, he hadn’t managed to do one thing - completely rid his mind of highly inappropriate thoughts about a certain patient.

 

**Day 53**

Having changed into his normal clothes, the used scrubs disappearing in the bin to clean, Dani sighed when he looked at his watch. Due to an emergency surgery on one of his patients, he finished over an hour earlier than usual. Today however, this was the last thing he needed - not after his bike dying on him this morning, meaning that he had to ride shotgun with Jorge and needed the younger man to take him back home. And of course, Jorge still had one patient right now.

For a moment he contemplated just waiting for Jorge in the staff room, but in the end Dani made his way over to the physical therapy pool. He would have never admitted his reason for it though.

Slipping on the protective plastic sheets over his boots, Dani passed through the door to the pool area. He could only hear Jorge’s low voice, his younger friend was obviously the only therapist present. Dani stopped at the corner of the short hallway, sneaking a glance at Jorge - who had carefully wrapped his arm around Marc’s torso.

“Alright, let’s do another repeat of five and then it’s time for a short break. And maybe in the meantime our sneaky visitor will stop lurking at us...”

Feeling the heat of being noticed in his face, Dani stepped around the corner, grinning sheepishly.

“Hey...”

“What do you say, Marc? Do you want an audience or shall I throw him out?”

Jorge grinned at Dani; it was obvious that he wouldn’t mind. And when Marc blinked once, it almost looked like he agreed.

Nodding at the two men in the water, Dani sat down on a bench, while Jorge finished the exercise with Marc. For the following break, Jorge slipped a floating device under Marc’s arms, gently pulling him through the water.

At first, Dani stared at them, catching himself more than once from looking at Marc in his swim shorts. He felt like bashing his head against the wall, trying to get rid of these thoughts, until he couldn’t stand it any more and pulled out his phone to check for messages.

“Have you thought about what we talked about the other day?”

At first Dani thought that Jorge was talking to Marc before he could basically feel the younger man’s eyes on him. Coughing to stop the lump in his throat from building up, Dani didn’t even look up from his phone. He knew that Jorge was too good in reading his face.

“Yeah...”

“And?”

“Still not sure what to do.”

Jorge only answered with a sigh before getting Marc into the right position for another exercise. In the meantime, Dani tried everything to distract himself from the conversation.

Opening up Twitter, he scrolled through his feed. Without thinking about it, he opened a tweet with a video, showing a compilation of the last MotoGP season. The roaring of the engines echoed around the halls of the pool area.

“Dani? What the... Hey, Dani!”

Looking up at the shocked cry coming from Jorge, Dani at first feared that something bad had happened, but he only saw Jorge staring at Marc in his arms, whose head was just lolling backwards against Jorge’s arm like it did so often.

“What is it?”

“Play that again!”

Frowning, Dani wondered what the matter was, until he did as he was told, his eyes this time on the two men in the water. And as soon as the sound of engines could be heard again, Dani and Jorge watched in awe when Marc turned his head deliberately towards Dani, obviously seeking out the source of the noise.

It was the first obvious reaction Marc showed since his accident.


	9. Day 54-68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *removes the dust from the story* I am so sorry that it took me so long...

**Day 54**

Dani just couldn’t get Marc’s reaction out of his head. After the latest scans and test results nobody had expected that. And that situation had pushed back his feelings for Marc again, right now his mind reeling with ideas how he could get through to the younger man on a professional level again. There was no way he was giving up on Marc now.

Taking another sip of his beer, Dani leaned back in his armchair, staring at the black screen of the turned off TV. The ping of an incoming text message dragged him out of his thoughts. A quick glance confirmed that it was Jorge; and his younger friend could definitely wait right now.

Laying down his mobile again, Dani leaned back, his look wandering over a few framed pictures on the wall. Until he stopped at the small motorcycle shaped trophy on the book shelf.

It had been from one of his won competitions from before the accident, but that was not what he had in mind right now.

It didn’t even take a minute for the idea to form before he picked up his mobile, looking for that number that had been given to him, but never used until now.

 

**Day 59**

So far it was one hell of a day. At first he had been greeted with that certain look from Jorge, after telling him for the tenth time that he didn’t want to hear his opinion right now.

After that he had learned that one of his patients had died unexpectedly last night, another one developing a high fever from an infection. It completely turned around his schedule for the day. In a hope that Marc would be a highlight, Dani put the younger man’s session last for the day.

By that time though, Dani was so tired that he would have actually preferred to go home early than going to Marc for his last therapy session of the day. That changed though as soon as he stepped through the door to Marc’s room.

Roser and Julia were nowhere to be seen, but Alex was sitting next to Marc’s bed - on the bedside table one of Marc’s helmets.

“Hey, Dani!”

“Hello you two... I see you got my message.”

Smiling proudly, Alex grabbed the helmet, laying it on the bed next to Marc’s hand. Marc was propped up by several pillows, his head turned towards Alex, his eyes staring at the wall however. Dani didn’t know if it was coincidence, but Marc had been dressed in a Repsol Honda shirt.

“Yeah, I did. Jorge told us what happened the other day... Do you think that...”

“That it was a conscious reaction? I do. It was more than clear that he reacted to the engine sounds in particular.”

Pride turned into hope as Alex let his hand stroke the helmet in a soft gesture. In the mean time, Dani stepped next to the bed, trying to find Marc’s eyes.

“Hey, Marc. Don’t worry, we won’t do anything exhausting. I’m pretty tired as well, but I think you will enjoy the session today.”

Dani waited for a moment, wondering if his words would get any reaction, but there was nothing in Marc’s eyes that indicated that. He carefully sat down on the bed next to Marc, his body close so that he could support the younger man if needed.

“You see, I asked Alex to bring something for today. Something that you know pretty well. Alex will help you a bit, okay?”

He nodded towards Alex who slowly put the helmet into Marc’s lap.

“Lay your right hand above Marc’s right hand. Help him feel the surface, the visor and the padding inside. Very slowly, Marc might take more time to process what he’s feeling than we do.”

Alex did like Dani had told him, his own hand slightly shaking, but after the first few moments he became more confident, putting a bit more pressure onto Marc’s hand underneath his own.

Dani observed Marc’s face in the mean time. His hope started to drop though; so far there was no reaction he could find.

Then he noticed the light from above Marc’s bed reflecting on the shiny surface of the helmet - followed by the tiniest movement of Marc’s head. Dani held his breath, carefully watching Marc trying to focus on the object.

“Oh my God...”

Alex’s words were only whispered, his hand leaving Marc’s as tears formed in his eyes. Mesmerized and unable to say another word, Dani and Alex watched as Marc slowly let his hand glide over the helmet - completely on his own and unguided by them.

 

**Day 68**

Dani couldn’t remember the last time he had been so nervous. It had definitely been some time, giving him the feeling that he was probably getting too old for so much excitement.

Actually it was his day off, but then he wouldn’t miss this for the world. He had told Jorge that he needed to make some free time for Marc in the afternoon, not going into any details besides bringing a wheelchair for Marc.

That’s how he ended up waiting in the hallway outside of Marc’s room, nervously picking on the skin of his thumb until he saw his friend coming around the corner. He was pushing a special kind of wheelchair where Marc would be able to rather lie in a comfortable way than sit.

Jorge asked an unspoken question as he eyed Dani, but he didn’t receive an answer as Dani’s mobile rang in the pocket of his jeans. Unable to keep on looking at Jorge, knowing that he would spoil the surprise otherwise, Dani pulled his mobile out.

“Hello?... Yeah... Perfect. We will come out by the backside entrance with the ramp.”

He hung up with a smile.

“Ready?”

“I guess you won’t give me an answer anyway, so yeah, I’m ready.”

Dani knocked on the door, hoping the whole Marquez family would be there. As soon as he was asked inside, seeing everyone, he breathed out with relief. Roser was sitting next to Marc’s bed, Alex and Julia playing some kind of card game at the table by the window.

“Dani! We didn’t expect to see you today.”

“I know. I have a little surprise for Marc. We have to go outside for it though.”

He let Jorge through to the room, Roser immediately frowning at the wheelchair.

“Are you sure about this?”

Reaching for Marc’s hand, Roser was obviously slightly doubtful of this surprise, but Julia seemed to be more optimistic as he walked over with a smile.

“What is this about?”

“Like I said, it’s a surprise. Jorge and I will transfer him into the wheelchair. It’s a bit chilly outside though. Maybe you could help Marc put on a sweater?”

Hesitantly, Roser nodded. However, she refused any help when she went over to the cupboard, pulling out an Alpinestars hoodie before carefully slipping it over Marc’s arms and head. Only a few weeks ago, Dani had encouraged her to help the nurses when Roser had shown signs of fear of hurting Marc in any way. After a few more minutes, Marc was dressed and transferred into the wheelchair.

Jorge offered to push Marc as Dani started to lead them down the hallway, Marc’s parents and Alex following along. Dani could hear whispering behind them, making him smile to himself.

He just prayed that his surprise had its desired effect.


	10. Day 68 continued

**Day 68 continued**

Approaching the back door to the hospital parking lot, Dani’s heart hammered in his chest. He hoped that everything had been arranged as planned, but after that first call he already had the feeling that everybody would be on board, without a doubt.

Coming to a halt right in front of the door, Dani turned around, looking into faces that showed a bit of anxiety and curiosity.

“Ready?”

At first he didn’t get an answer, but suddenly Marc moved his head - it was probably nothing, but it almost looked like he had nodded.

“Well then, if you say so.”

Dani couldn’t hide the grin on his face any more as he slowly pushed open the door, holding it so that Jorge could push Marc’s wheelchair easily through it.

“Oh my God...”

Roser’s cry out, almost brought tears to Dani’s eyes. She reached for Julia’s hand; her husband just starring without saying a word.

“You crazy bastard.” Jorge’s mumbled words could probably only be heard by Dani and Marc, but the younger man’s radiating and unbelieving grin said enough.

“Surprise!”

Dani grinned back before leading their small group over to the huge truck that was parking on the side of the parking lot. It didn’t even need the almost glowing orange writing of Repsol Honda on the side. In front of the truck they had almost arranged a small garage area. And behind a well known orange Honda bike - number 93 in silver on the front - there was Marc’s crew waiting for them, as well as Emilio who had arranged the whole thing after Dani had called him.

Roser was quietly sobbing in Julia’s arms, Alex just constantly shaking his head, while they slowly walked over to the truck. Emilio and Santi were already coming their way, both smiling and nodding towards Dani as they stopped right in front of Marc.

“Hey, champ. You have a special visitor today and she’s quite eager to see you again,” Santi said, kneeling so that he was the same height as Marc. For a moment Marc moved his head towards his crew chief, almost looking into his eyes, before it fell back against the headrest again.

As if they had waited for the exact moment, they started the engine of the Honda, its loud roar filling the air.

And it didn’t even take 5 seconds until Marc turned his head towards the noise. For Roser and Julia it was the first time they saw this, both silently crying at his reaction. Emilio just looked at Dani. And Dani was glad to see the same spark of hope in the older man’s eyes as he felt inside himself.

“Let’s see how she is today. Shall we?”

After nodding towards Jorge, Santi took over to push the wheelchair over to the rest of the crew, everybody immediately welcoming Marc. They had stopped the engine of the bike for a moment, giving out ear plugs at first. Santi pushed Marc right up to the bike, so close that his arm already touched the fairing without reaching out.

“There she is. And she’s missing you a lot.”

With a short look towards Dani, Santi asked silently for permission, before reaching for Marc’s hand. Carefully he placed his hand on the fuel tank, nodding towards Jordi who started the engine again. Even though everybody tried to act as nonchalant as possible, all eyes were on Marc. Dani was crouching down right next to him, intensely watching the younger man’s face.

Marc’s head slowly turned towards his hand, as if wondering where the vibrating sensation came from. At first it looked like he was starring into nothingness, but watching closely Dani could see that Marc’s eyes tried to focus on different parts of the bike. When his eyes finally fell on the shining number 93, Marc seemed to freeze for a moment. And Dani saw tears filling his eyes, slowly rolling down his slightly red cheeks.

It was the first time Marc cried since that fateful day in September.

“Hey... it’s gonna be okay. She will be waiting for you.”

Dani carefully wiped away Marc’s tears, only realising too late that it might have been a bit of an inappropriate gesture, but everybody else was so overwhelmed with the situation anyway that nobody really noticed.

“Marc, what do you think? Can Dani take her for a ride?”

“What?!”

Dani stared at Santi in shock. That had never been part of the plan; and he had never ridden such a huge bike before. Marc simply blinked once, his eyes still on the bike.

“See, Marc is okay with it.” Santi laughed and went to get a helmet for Dani, who suddenly stopped in his movements. Nobody else seemed to think anything about Marc’s ‘answer’ - except Jorge, who looked just as surprised as Dani.

“Do you think...?” Dani’s question couldn’t be heard over the noise of the engine, but Jorge must have understood him anyway. All he could do was shrugging though. Before Dani could try anything though, Santi already pushed the helmet into his hands.

“Alex has told me you used to ride as well? Like in racing?”

“Yeah, but that was a long time ago, when I was still a teenager.”

“So I guess I don’t have to explain too much.”

Santi padded him on the back as if to wish him good luck. Sighing slightly, Dani put the helmet on. It didn’t fit perfectly as it was Marc’s usual helmet, but for one or two laps around the parking lot it would do. While Santi showed him some things on the dashboard that were unique to the MotoGP bike, Dani tried to concentrate, however he just couldn’t stop thinking about what he had seen.

However, as soon as he rode the first few metres with the bike, something clicked inside Dani’s brain. Once a racer, always a racer - that was so true for him in that moment. If he had the chance to really ride this bike on a track, he would jump at it immediately. But today it was just the hospital parking lot and by the time his mind had cleared again, he had already finished two laps.

Carefully, he stopped back at the truck. He was still slightly shaking when he got off, stroking the fuel tank one more time in a gentle gesture, before he almost ripped the helmet off and rushed over to Marc.

Once again he saw tears running down Marc’s face and it took everything in the book for Dani not to kiss those tears away. But then, there was something else he needed to check.

“I can now understand why you love her so much. And you can remember her very well. Am I right?”

Marc didn’t really look at him, but he blinked once again. Still, Dani wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to raise hopes if they weren’t appropriate, but when he looked up at Jorge, his friend nodded, wanting him to continue.

“Marc, I think you can really understand what I’m saying, right? Let’s try something...”

Of course, Dani noticed that slowly everybody around them became aware of what was going on, but he tried to put all of his focus on Marc in this moment.

“Okay, we’ll make it easy. Blink once for yes, blink twice for no.”

Marc blinked once.

“Do you recognize all these people here?”

Once.

“Is this the usual place where you ride your bike?”

Twice.

“Do you know where you are at the moment?”

Once.

“Do you remember what happened?”

Marc didn’t blink, but very slowly he turned his head and looked over to his bike, as if he knew that the answer to this question had something to do with it. After a long moment he looked back at Dani and blinked twice, once again tears in his eyes.

“That’s okay. Don’t pressure yourself. Things will come back in time. But I am so happy to be able to talk to you.”

Marc blinked once, before he slowly turned his head further to the side - in the direction of Alex and his parents. All of them had seen the way he had just interacted with Dani, all of them had tears in their eyes. Slowly Roser made a step forward, letting go of Julia’s hand for the first time since they had stepped out into the parking lot.

“Baby? Marc? Can you hear me, my baby?”

Once.

“Do you know who I am? Do you know who we are?”

Once; and in an almost violent sob, Roser broke down, her arms wrapped around her son. Her eldest. The one she had feared they had lost forever.


End file.
